9/7/2016

The new encoder, decoder and transcoder PCI Express accelerator cards significantly improve functionality over the previous generation in the same compact and low power footprint

September 7, 2016 – Advantech (TWSE: 2395.TW) today unveiled an expanded range of low power PCI Express video accelerator cards that can be integrated into commercial IT/PC server-based media applications to offload heavy-lifting video processing tasks in UHD video infrastructure solutions. The new entrants include a single board 8Kp60 HEVC encoder, and two next generation boards that can support real-time, high quality professional grade HEVC, AVC or MPEG-2 encoding, decoding, and transcoding with up to 10 bit colour depth and 4:2:2 chroma sampling.

The new VEGA-3310 and VEGA-3311 are both high performance low power video processing accelerators in a half-length PCI Express form factor. The VEGA-3311 is fitted with video acquisition interfaces and can manage up to 4Kp60 real time encoding and decoding with scaling and pre-processing, and supports H.264 and MPEG-2 standards as well as an improved HEVC capability that includes higher quality and very low latency modes. To support the move to an all-IP workflow, a version of VEGA-3311 is available with a dual 10 Gigabit Ethernet live Media over IP interface option in addition to traditional quad-SDI based video interfaces. The VEGA-3310 has no dedicated video interfaces but instead features enhanced processing capacity for file or PCI streaming offload applications. It can support dual channel 4Kp60 or high frame rate encoding up to 4Kp120, and multiple cards can be configured to support up to 8K/UHD-2 HEVC encoding. In addition, this event sees the debut of the new VEGA-3304 which is a real-time 8Kp60 HEVC encode accelerator in a PCI Express long card form factor and can optionally be fitted with a 16 x SDI-3G video acquisition expansion card.

“Our next generation PCI Express adapters offer significantly improved encoding functionality and, for the first time, a capability for professional grade HEVC decoding as well,” said Emily Teng, Product Line Manager for Video Adapters at Advantech. “The low power multi-format encoding and decoding together with scaling and preprocessing are perfect for high density transcoding or adaptive bit rate streaming applications.”

The enhanced video processing capability will feature throughout the VEGA product portfolio, including the new VEGA-6311, a next generation version of the VEGA-6301 Compact All-in-one Encoder Appliance, and the new accelerators can improve the HEVC performance of the VEGA-7000 Video Server to 1 channel of 8Kp60, 8 channels of 4Kp60 or 16 channels of 1080p60 in a short depth 1U rack mount form factor.

“Driven by the convergence of broadcasting and IT technologies, our next generation PCI Express encoder, decoder and transcoder accelerators will empower customers with new ways to innovate,” said David Lin, Senior Director of the Video Solutions Division at Advantech. “The enhanced feature set and the improved density will bring the low power and time to market benefits of our off-the-shelf video processing products to a wider range of 4K, 8K, Virtual Reality and 360 Video applications.”